Right Here Waiting
by astronomylover
Summary: A picnic on a summer day would make anyone's day, right? Well, Riley Poole isn't just anybody. Here are his thoughts on Ben and Abigail's relationship, and where he fits in. BenRiley angst. Please R&R. Based on "Right Here Waiting" by Richard Marx.


"Right Here Waiting"

I hate it when the weather mocks me. It seems to do that a lot these days. Maybe it's just because I'm forced to see my best friend with that … _woman_. You'd think the Scary Declaration Lady would disappear once we returned the Declaration, but _no. _She had to hang around, and not in the same sense that the Head of the FBI did to make sure we weren't gonna pull anything else. No, she's hanging onto Ben…literally.

That's right, ladies and gents. Ben Gates and Abigail Chase – I hate even _thinking_ her name nowadays – are dating. Oh, but that's not even the best part. They moved in together, into a house that has some big, long, historically-filled-but-totally-not-interesting background (to anybody other than them) just last week. My life – or every part of it that I actually enjoyed – is slowly being taken away by the Wicked Witch of the East… or Saxony Germany, rather.

So, back to the weather. I'm sitting outside in the shade of a big oak tree in a park nearby Ben's house, mansion, thing, whatever you want to call it. Ben and Abigail are relaxing on a blanket about twenty feet away, chatting happily while they eat their perfect little picnic lunch. The sun is shining, birds are twittering, and the temperature's warm (but not _too_ warm) with a slight breeze every so often. The scene is so perfect, it's disgusting.

_Oceans apart day after day_

_And I slowly go insane_

_I hear your voice on the line_

_But it doesn't stop the pain_

There used to be a time (during the planning stages of this whole national heist) where I had Ben to myself. Granted, we were – and _are_, I have to keep reminding myself – just friends, but there was no Abigail to rain on my parade. You see, for those of you out there in TV Land who _haven't_ figured it out already, I'm in love with my best friend. There's only one problem: he's in love with someone else.

Ben Gates is the man responsible for shaping me as a person…and at the same time, stealing my heart. I'd always been a loner, from the time I was a teen until the day I met Ben. He just showed up in my small, windowless cubicle one day, asking me if I'd like to break tons of laws work with him to find the _Charlotte_. As the sayings always go, I didn't know then what I know now. I didn't know that when I agreed to work for him, I'd be making a friend for life…one who would serve to cause me eternal heartache. (Unintentionally, of course.)

_If I see you next to never_

_How can you say forever_

_Wherever you go_

_Whatever you do_

_I will be right here waiting for you_

_Whatever it takes_

_Or how my heart breaks_

_I will be right here waiting for you_

I don't know why I agreed to come on this stupid picnic anyway. Ben told me he thought it would do me some good, to get out of my tiny apartment and into the sunshine. He's right, it would – just not with _her_ here. It does me no good to sit in the sunshine and feel my heart shatter moment after moment.

I must have scowled or something because Abigail just threw an apple at my head. It's a good apple, and I'll give her this – she has fairly accurate aim. The stunt made Ben laugh, which always makes me feel better, even if it _is_ at my expense, but at the same time, I'm torn.

_I took for granted, all the times_

_That I thought would last somehow_

_I hear the laughter, I taste the tears_

_But I can't get near you now_

My world seems to exist on two levels. Level one: I want nothing more than for Ben to happy. Looking over at him and her on that blanket not twenty feet away, he seems happier than I've seen him in a long while. He smiles so much of the time now – _true smiles, _the ones that make it all the way to your eyes…and in turn, your heart. When Ben's happy, I'm happy…or the façade I wear is. Internally, I'm broken beyond fixing. That's the second level: I broke the day he chose Abigail over me. (Granted, I never worked up the courage to tell him how I felt, but…now…I really wish I had been strong enough, brave enough, whatever adjective you want to pin on it, to tell him how I felt feel.) I think you understand the predicament in which I've found myself.

_Oh, can't you see it, baby?_

_You've got me goin' crazy_

_Wherever you go_

_Whatever you do_

_I will be right here waiting for you_

_Whatever it takes_

_Or how my heart breaks_

_I will be right here waiting for you_

Sometimes I wonder why I put myself through this. It's like a constant battle between my brain and my heart: I want to spend time with Ben (I'm _friends_ with him, so I'm certainly allowed – the Wicked Witch hasn't tried to stop me yet), but do I want to spend that time getting my heart stomped on every moment? It's almost a self-fulfilling prophecy, in a way. I'll continue getting hurt until I stop seeing Ben or he stops seeing Abigail (which, sadly, doesn't seem to be anytime soon).

I want to be happy. I really do. (And please don't think of me differently because of all this romantic nonsense I'm writing. This isn't the normal me. This is Riley. Riley's all sarcasm and wit and – _hopefully_ – charm. But, as Ben would say, people just don't talk that way anymore.

_I wonder how we can survive_

_This romance_

_But in the end if I'm with you_

_I'll take the chance_

I won't lie; being best friends with Ben takes its toll on me after a while. It's all _her_ fault, of course – never his. Ben's all adventure and honesty and loyalty and hope, wrapped up in a tall, dark, and handsome package. When I look at it like that, it's no wonder Abigail likes him so much. He's everything one could ever want in a guy, and seeing that she has an interest in history to rival his…well, it's practically a match made in Heaven. However, there's always this small part of me that keeps reminding me, prodding me, whispering in my ear… _'One day, Riley. One day, that could be you. Don't _

_give up.'_ If it weren't for that tiny voice, that little sliver of light in the darkness of my mind, I think I'd go crazy.

_Oh, can't you see it, baby?_

_You've got me goin' crazy_

_Wherever you go_

_Whatever you do_

_I will be right here waiting for you_

_Whatever it takes_

_Or how my heart breaks_

_I will be right here waiting for you_

Ben just called my name. His eyes are sparkling with that light that I've come to associate with treasure hunting; the light of adventure. That light's only there when he's _truly_ happy. A half-smile crosses my face as I watch him, call over to him, asking what he wants of me. It turns out – and I'm kind of surprised at this – that the picnic he and Abigail packed included lunch for me. But should I go? Or should I cling to my spot under this Oak like it's my only tie to the physical earth?

Abigail's calling now, too, patting a spot on the blanket next to her. Truth be told, I _am_ hungry. But the hunger in my stomach is nothing compared to the yearning in my heart…the yearning for someone something I can't have. It doesn't matter, though. The decision of whether or not to come out from under this tree was practically decided for me the moment Ben called my name. I may not be _with_ Ben, but I'm sure as hell not going to give up spending any time with him, no matter if she's there or not.

Walt Disney was a smart man. _"A dream is a wish your heart makes,"_ he once said. Most of that song (and other romantic, gooey, love songs like that) get tuned out automatically by my head. I'm a guy; there's only _so much_ emotion I'm gonna show, okay? But…there is a line in that song that's at the heart of all the others – "_No matter how your heart is grieving If you keep on believing The dream that you wish will come true."_ Things now aren't how I want them to be, things between Ben and I. However, I'm gonna take a leaf out of Mr. Disney's book (and Steve Perry's, if you listen to Journey). I'll keep believing. After all, if I dream hard enough, I may get my wish – and my Prince Charming – someday. As of right now, that's enough for me.

* * *

Putting on his normal quirky grin, Riley Poole closed the lid to his laptop and went over to join his friends.

* * *

**Author's Note: **This is my first foray into a real angsty story (one that doesn't turn out with a happy ending), so hopefully you've enjoyed it. Please review - I'd love to hear what you thought of it! The song _"Right Here Waiting" _belongs to Richard Marx.


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